The Four Oaks Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan is a long-range planning document to guide the future development of the Town’s parks and recreation facilities and shape the offering of programs provided by the Town over the next 10 years.
A holistic planning approach informed by community engagement
This effort considered four main sources of information:
- Previous Planning Efforts
- Individual Park Analyses
- National Benchmarking and Level-of-Service Assessment
- Community Engagement
The plan also takes into account the Town’s history, demographics and projected future growth.
The existing conditions assessment focuses not only on the park facilities themselves, but also the programming offered by the Recreation and Parks Department and current department staffing levels and operating budget.
More than just parks
These sources provided a framework for the development of a vision, recommendations, and prioritization strategies for the parks system.
The final document makes recommendations for improvements, increased efficiencies, and identifies trends for the enhancement of delivery of services. Recommendations were made for expansions and enhancements at the individual park level for Barbour’s Grove Park, Johnson-Strickland Kiddie Park, and Robert L. Holt Kiddie Park.
The plan also outlined proposed facility additions such as a Farmer’s Market and a town-wide park and community center to include a community garden, tennis and pickleball courts, a baseball diamond, and a multi-purpose field.
Additionally, Four Oaks desires to interconnect the town through a comprehensive trail and greenway network. The plan sets forth a greenway alignment that not only ties into the national East Coast Greenway, but also connects users to downtown businesses and the Four Oaks park network via a combination of greenway and pedestrian infrastructure.
Laying the foundation for future master planning and design
The plan concludes with cost estimating, potential funding sources, and an implementation timeline for execution of the recommended improvements. The Town has already begun implementing projects, such as the pathway enhancements at Barbour’s Grove Park, and will continue to oversee recommended projects to provide the highest quality of parks experiences for its community.